Secrets Hidden
by Kristi1
Summary: NightWalker fic~Shido/Riho~sequel to "Forgotten Memories"~Shido's past continues to haunt him
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own "Nightwalker" or any of the characters involved.  
  
Riho awoke with a start. Without moving her body she assessed her situation. Muted light entered the room through the drawn curtains on the window. She estimated the time of day to be about 7 p.m.  
  
"Almost time to get up," she thought lazily and yawned. She cuddled closer into the loose embrace of her lover sharing the bed with her. Her head rested against his chest and she listened closely to detect his heartbeat. She heard none and smiled secretly to herself. She knew that he also would not hear the pumping of blood through her veins, for they were both of that mythological and mysterious breed known as vampire.  
  
Riho raised her head to look upon the face of the man she loved while he rested in repose. His long violet-colored tresses lay across his shoulders and long wisps of bangs shaded his closed eyes. He looked deceptively young and childlike while asleep, she thought. Deceptive because in truth he was several centuries old and had long ago lost any sense of innocence.  
  
Riho lifted her hand to caress his face and moved to wake him with a kiss, when a long shudder wracked his body and his head began to roll back and forth across the pillow. His arms and hands clenched and tightened painfully around her small body and then relaxed again. Low moans emerged from his sensuous mouth and his eyes moved frantically from beneath their closed lids.  
  
"Another memory," Riho said bitterly as she whispered her lover's name.  
  
"Shido."  
  
No response.  
  
"Shido," she repeated loudly and with a shake the vampire awoke from his dream.  
  
Pain-filled eyes locked onto her sympathetic, brown ones.  
  
"Another memory?" she asked quietly.  
  
He only nodded his head in a dazed assent.  
  
"Maybe it would help to talk about it," she prodded him gently, but his only response was to roll onto his side and turn away from her.  
  
Riho lay back in the bed and stared morosely up at the ceiling.  
  
In the year that Shido and she had been together, working as one team in both their professional and personal lives, there was only one aspect of their union together that was imperfect. It was his past and his adamant refusal to discuss any of it with her. Whenever he recalled details, or had dreams, or awakened memories about his other life, he would become distant from her and put up a wall that she could not climb no matter how hard she tried. No amount of reasoning or pleading could get him to talk about what he remembered of the man he once was or what he had done.  
  
Riho got out of the bed and walked over to the window. She parted the curtains slightly and looked out at the city as the sun set in the distant sky. This was one of her favorite times of day. Usually she and Shido would awake to watch the sunset together and then go back to bed to make love before beginning their day which consisted of adhering to nighttime hours.  
  
Riho stood quiet, naked, and alone at the window tonight and thought that her physical state at the moment perfectly matched her emotional state. For she was truly alone and helpless in her desire to help Shido work out his demons, when he rebuffed her at every turn as he did.  
  
After several minutes of contemplating the sun sinking low in the sky, she felt a blanket cover her form. From behind, a pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her into a hard masculine body. Shido's head lowered to drift kisses along her bare shoulder and neck. He kissed and nibbled his way up to her ear and whispered, "You looked so lovely standing there with the light bathing over you in pinks and reds."  
  
"Come back to bed, Riho," he pleaded.  
  
"I want you," he growled into her ear as he licked it. Shivers ran up and down her spine and she felt his desire hard against her back. She turned around in his arms and mutely stared up at him.  
  
"I need you, Riho," he stated firmly and there was nothing for her to do at that moment but to wrap her arms around his neck and tilt her face up to receive his scorching kiss.  
  
The blanket fell from their bodies as Shido picked up his young love and gently deposited her back onto the bed. Without breaking their kiss, his fingers tested her readiness for him. He found her wet and wanting and so he immediately sank himself inside of her depths without any preliminaries.  
  
He began to move inside of her and in one last attempt to reach out to him, Riho poured all of her love for him into her eyes which glowed and radiated with her unending affection for this man. Shido looked down at her and for a moment answered her silent endearment with his own. But then his expression changed to one of sadness and fear and he lowered his head into her hair so as not to meet her gaze. Shido never saw the tears that formed in her eyes as he lost himself in her body.  
  
  
  
A lone figure standing on the corner dropped the cigarette from his fingers and ground out its ashes with his boot heel as he stared up at the window across the street. He saw a young girl separate the curtains and look out towards the setting sun. He could see her naked, young body and appreciated her lush curves. Then he witnessed a man emerge from the darkness behind her. The man placed kisses onto her shoulder and neck and she turned around to meet and match his ardor. The figure on the corner clenched his hands in anger and disgust and turned away as the lovers stepped away from the window.  
  
"Soon, Riho," he whispered to himself. "Soon you will be mine," he vowed as he walked off down the street finalizing plans in his mind. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Shido sighed heavily as he tried to focus on the case that Yayoi was detailing for him. Try as he might, however, his mind kept going back to the disturbing dream that he had had several nights before. The dream had been a recreation from his past. Another torturous reminder of one of his and Cain's murdering sprees. The most disturbing visual though from the dream, the one that still haunted him, was of looking down at his shaking, blood-stained hands. From there the dream took a turn into unreality, as he then placed those same blood-splattered hands upon Riho's bare body and smeared the magenta liquid upon her forehead and lips as a form of benediction. Cain laughed sinisterly in the background. When he had awoken, he couldn't even face Riho while images of the dream still lingered in his mind, for fear that she would be repulsed by his actions and thoughts.  
  
"Shido!" Yayoi cut in, directing his attention back to her.  
  
"Are you listening at all? This is an important case and we need to get moving on it!" she demanded.  
  
"Yeah, Shido," Guni chimed in. "What's with you lately? Your sex life okay?" she taunted.  
  
"Everything is fine! I'm fine!" Shido insisted. "Let's get going Yayoi, or should we wait for Riho?"  
  
"I'm here!" Riho called from the open doorway. "Do we have a case?" she inquired as she strolled over to Shido and placed a kiss upon his cheek. Guni groaned at the act of affection between the two vampires.  
  
"Yes," Yayoi replied. "We're leaving now."  
  
The trio made their way downstairs with Guni settling in upon Shido's shoulder. Just as they began to walk towards Yayoi's car, they heard an ear-piercing scream cut through the night.  
  
Shido took off down the street with Riho and Yayoi following close behind. The vampire detective darted down one street and then into a dimly lit alley. At the far end, he saw a young woman huddled against a fence, crying with a fierce lizard-like creature moving menacingly in her direction. As Shido moved forward to battle the demon, he put a finger to his mouth and bit down hard. Glowing blood emerged from the wound to form a gleaming sword. Yayoi and Riho moved up behind the vampire for back-up as Shido shouted out, "Leave her alone!"  
  
The demon turned toward Shido with a look of evil delight. But just as Shido was about to vanquish the nightbreed, the unholy gleam in its eyes turned to one of surprise as a blood-red sword emerged from his chest. He fell down to the ground with a loud smack and behind him was revealed a tall figure of a man in the shadows. The man bit his finger and flung several drops of glowing blood onto the breed as it hissed and disintegrated into a mound of smoldering decay.  
  
Shido, Riho, Yayoi, and Guni all stared at the stranger in shock and surprise, as he emerged from the shadows into the light of the alley. None of them had ever come into contact with another demon-battling person before.  
  
The stranger was a tall, young man with long dark hair tied back at his neck. His golden eyes retained a warm, amber hue to them. He was solidly built with extremely handsome features.  
  
"You're a vampire?" Shido inquired, although it sounded more like a statement than a question.  
  
"Yes," the stranger affirmed calmly as he watched the young girl who had been the breed's victim run off into the night. He took a few steps toward the crime fighters.  
  
"Who are you and why did you kill that nightbreed?" Shido demanded, instinctively distrusting any other vampire aside from himself and Riho. In his experience, they were all self-serving egomaniacs who viewed the human race as inferior to themselves.  
  
"Hunter," the handsome man replied.  
  
"Is that your name or your profession?" Yayoi asked, puzzled by the young man's behavior as much as Shido.  
  
"Both," he again simply stated.  
  
Riho stepped forward at that moment, dismayed at both Shido and Yayoi's cool attitudes towards the good-looking hero of the night.  
  
"Well, you did a good thing by killing that breed and saving that girl. This is Shido," she said while gesturing towards her lavender-haired boyfriend, "...and Yayoi," she continued.  
  
"I'm Guni," Guni interjected before Riho could introduce her, as she fluttered out from beneath Shido's long hair.  
  
"And you are?" Hunter prompted while keeping his eyes firmly upon Riho during the introductions. His eyes hinted at amusement and one corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk.  
  
"Oh," she cried. "I'm Riho," she exclaimed, thrusting her hand forward to shake the young man's hand.  
  
"Riho," he repeated, saying her name slowly as if savoring the feel of it upon his tongue. At the same time, he took her hand and enclosed it in both of his own, sending warmth up her arm. Riho blushed and pulled her hand away quickly.  
  
Shido immediately stepped up and placed his arm possessively around his young lover's shoulders, disliking the other vampire even more intensely based on his actions towards Riho.  
  
"I'll be seeing you soon...Riho," Hunter said as he suddenly walked off into the night and disappeared into the shadows.  
  
The onlookers were left to stare after him in the dimly lit alley. Shido looked down at Riho in some alarm as he caught an expression of amusement and interest on her beautiful, young face. He felt his heart constrict painfully in his chest as he turned her to begin to walk back to the office and discuss the new stranger in town and what his intentions were. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Shido was worried. Profoundly worried. Incredibly worried about his relationship with Riho.  
  
After the encounter with the strange, young vampire a few nights before, he could feel her slowly pulling away from him. But truth to tell, the fissure in their relationship had begun before that and the blame could be laid directly at his door. He knew that he was creating a wall between them when he would refuse to tell her about the dreams and memories that haunted him. But how could he tell her about them when to do so would cause her to hate him? Make her look upon him not in admiration, but in disgust and revulsion? Telling her the truth would not bring them together, only tear them apart. And there was no way in hell he would lose her. She was everything to him: the air his lungs couldn't breathe, the blood that caused his heart to thump, the sole reason to live another day in an eternity of existence. He loved her more than life itself.  
  
But what could he do? The memories seemed to be coming back more and more frequently now and with visions of violence and destruction that even sickened him. When they occurred, he needed time by himself to sort then out and store them away. Time away from Riho, who should not be a part of any such vulgarity.  
  
What he wanted to do was to have them reconnect in a special way and that was why he was planning this outing for tonight. He had left their bed before she had risen to prepare everything for this outing. A single red rose with an invitation to join him on this moonlight beach picnic had been left on the pillow beside her. They had done this several times before in their year together and each time had held a special memory for him. Once they had danced all night beneath the stars; another time they had rowed a boat out onto the water. Their last picnic, however, had been his favorite. Riho had taunted and teased him to go for a midnight swim. It had been decades since he had last set foot in the water and he wasn't sure of his abilities. But as he watched Riho deftly shed her clothes and wade out into the water, he became entranced by her siren's song. He, too, discarded his clothing and joined her in the ocean waves.  
  
They had swum out a bit and then turned towards each other. Shido had pulled her silky smooth body towards his and luxuriated in the feeling of her legs wrapping themselves around his waist and her nipples rubbing against his wet chest. He lowered his mouth to hers and slipped his tongue through the seam of her lips to tangle with her own.  
  
He broke out of his reverie suddenly, but the salty sea air he inhaled continued to remind him of the tang of her lips that night. Shido looked down at his watch. Almost time. He was ready for her, he thought bemusedly, in more ways than one and he laughed to himself. Perhaps, he would be the one to suggest a midnight swim tonight.  
  
"Ah, Riho..." he murmured.  
  
  
  
  
  
Riho made her way excitedly to the beach where Shido awaited her. She loved evenings like this when they didn't have to worry about a case, or breeds, and took time for themselves. They were precious and rare and should be treasured.  
  
And this was a sign that Shido had indeed noticed the barrier that existed between them and was finally making an effort to bridge the gap. Even if it was in small steps, she accepted it for what it was worth. It had taken him awhile to admit to his feelings for her and she understood that he had a hard time expressing himself in words.  
  
At the top of a sand dune she stopped and looked down. There he was: her lover, her love, her companion. She felt her heart drop and butterflies flutter in her stomach. He still gave her those feelings when she looked at him and saw his long lavender hair flying free in the sea breeze. His tall frame was encased in a nice gray suit and he had a blanket spread out before him with lit candles and a picnic basket sitting atop it.  
  
When he spotted her in the distance, he mutely raised his hands towards her in invitation and beckoned her forth. With childlike exuberance, she raced down the hill and flung herself into his arms as if it had been years since they had seen each other and not a matter of hours.  
  
  
  
  
  
A figure in the bushes at the top of the hill moved out of the shadows and spied on the couple on the beach.  
  
The man laughed softly to himself and consulted his watch, knowing that this romantic rendezvous would be coming to an end very soon, and then he would have his chance with the lovely Riho. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
Riho sank down upon the blanket, sitting close to Shido's side, their hands tightly clasped together. Neither one spoke. They only let their acute vampire senses take in the beautiful music created by the ocean as the waves broke endlessly upon the shore. They admired the dark sky with its twinkling stars creating lifelike patterns, and they fondly gazed up at the moon who was their constant companion during their "days."  
  
Shido was the first to break the silence. He turned to Riho and smiled.  
  
"I would like to pronounce a toast," he said, releasing her hand and rifling through the basket looking for the wine and glasses he had packed.  
  
Surprised and amused, Riho playfully asked, "To what?"  
  
"To US," he proclaimed and proceeded to pour wine into each glass. He then handed her one and raised his glass to hers.  
  
"Riho..." he began in a halted attempt at an apology, "I know that..."  
  
Riho clinked her glass to his before she raised it to her lips and at the sound of the tinkling glass; a memory was triggered and brought to life in Shido's mind.  
  
He and Cain had brought two prostitutes back to their suite of rooms and had seduced and killed them, and then slit their wrists. The vampires had then drained their gushing blood into wine chalices. They raised their glasses of lifeblood in a toast and Cain lovingly said, "To US." Shido had clinked his glass to Cain's and drunk deeply from his cup. Then with lips wet with blood, he had met Cain's lips with his own...  
  
"Shido!" Riho called from what seemed to be a great distance.  
  
"Shido!" she exclaimed once more and with a shake brought him back to the present.  
  
He stared dumbly at her for a minute, trying to recall where he was and why he was there. He saw the glass in Riho's hand filled with a magenta liquid and watched her tongue dart out to lick a drop that had clung to her lip. Shido suddenly flung the glass out of her hand and quickly rose from the blanket. He turned his back to her and stared out at the ocean, breathing heavily.  
  
"Shido! What's wrong?" Riho cried in confusion and worry, rising from the blanket.  
  
After several seconds of strained silence in which Shido struggled to compose himself again, he turned back to her and said, "Nothing. Riho, I have to go. I will see you later."  
  
At her look of stunned hurt and disbelief, he reached a shaking hand out to her, but immediately pulled it away. "I'm sorry," was all he said before he strode off along the beach, leaving their romantic picnic rendezvous in a shambles and Riho desolate and alone. She watched his disappearing figure until she could see him no more and then sank down once again onto the blanket. She went over again and again in her mind the events leading up to his outburst, trying in vain to decipher what could have caused such a strange reaction in him. She knew in her heart that it had to have been a memory, but her self-esteem played tricks on her. A voice in her head taunted and teased her into believing that Shido didn't truly love her anymore, that she was no good, and that he would prefer to be in someone else's company.  
  
Just as the tears began to form in her eyes, she sensed a presence behind her and turned in surprise, hoping for it to be Shido.  
  
"Hello, Riho," Hunter greeted her.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" he asked as he sat down on the blanket where Shido had been and turned his lovely amber eyes upon her.  
  
Riho was speechless.  
  
  
  
  
  
Shido knew that he had a serious problem, but was at a loss as to how to deal with it. He stared morosely at the dark, murky waters churning below him as he leaned over the railing of the pier upon which he stood. How he longed to tell someone about these recurring true-to-life nightmares. But anyone whom he told would come to hate him. Just as he was coming to hate himself, a voice inside said. And therein lay the crux of the matter.  
  
Shido actually had no problem with being a vampire. It was not the life that he had asked for, but Cain had granted him eternity nonetheless. And he had grown accustomed to it. He did, in fact, enjoy the thrill of battling demons, being able to fly and leap great distances, and have superhuman strength. When he had first been turned and hunted the nights with Cain, he had been a sinner. But when he had finally left Cain, he had turned his life around and tried to reconcile for his sins by battling evil and saving human lives and hearts.  
  
And in the process, he had found his own human heart again. True, he was cursed to walk endless dark nights, but since he had turned Riho, his nights were not so dark, but bright with her love and laughter. And as for the nights being endless, lately they seemed to pass all too quickly for him when he and Riho were together.  
  
His life now had meaning and his existence had meaning to someone else. He had tried before to walk the solitary path and block out all others. But ever since meeting Guni, Yayoi, and Riho, he couldn't imagine being alone again. They all accepted him for what he was...now. But none of them had any real idea of the man who he had been. Would they turn away, one by one, if they knew the truth? Could he risk it? Would the good that he had done outweigh the bad? In his eyes, he was starting to believe that no amount of demon battling could rectify the harm that he had done and that was why he hated himself. And why he didn't deserve to have an innocent soul like Riho by his side.  
  
Shido felt the guilt of his actions weighing him down; sinking him in a sea of lies and deception. And who would be there to save him?  
  
Unhappily, his thoughts turned in another direction. Why were the memories coming back so frequently lately? In the past that had been a sign that Cain was nearby. Could his maker be lurking in the vicinity and plotting a new attempt to win him back? He remembered in some alarm that Cain's last attack had focused itself upon...  
  
"Riho!"  
  
He had left her all alone on the beach! What if Cain were after her again? He set off running down the long pier, praying that she was out of harm's way.  
  
  
  
  
  
Riho was attempting to appear normal in front of the handsome vampire and not let him see that her heart was breaking. She was guarded and on edge in his presence, knowing that both Yayoi and Shido distrusted his motives. He was, after all, a vampire and an unknown quantity. She decided to try to get some information out of him to relay back to the team of investigators.  
  
"So, Hunter," Riho began, "Where do you come from and what are you doing in town?"  
  
"I've come from somewhere else," he replied evasively. "And I am spending time with you. What more could I ask for?"  
  
"Oh,..um," Riho nervously stammered as he continued to stare at her.  
  
Hunter began his own line of questioning.  
  
"Riho, how well do you know Shido?" he inquired.  
  
"Very well," she replied firmly and blushed a little, saying the word 'intimately' in her mind. "Ah, I see," Hunter uttered as if he could read her mind and hear what she was thinking.  
  
"So you DO know that he had other lovers then? Countless other lovers. Most of whom he just took for pleasure and then later killed and discarded," he taunted.  
  
Riho paled and angrily began to form the words to attack back and defend Shido, but Hunter calmly continued before she could reply.  
  
"And you do, of course, know that he and his maker, Cain, had a relationship. They were lovers and I do believe that they were even IN love," he said with a sardonic smile on his lips.  
  
Riho had had enough.  
  
"Just who do you think that you are to talk about Shido that way to me? You have no idea about the kind of man that he is! And how do you know so much about him anyways? What are you trying to do? To tell me that I don't mean anything to Shido? To tell me that he doesn't really love me?" she shouted at him.  
  
Her voice was rising hysterically and tears were beginning to form angrily in her eyes.  
  
Hunter's amber eyes filled with sympathy and sorrow for the hurt that he had caused this beautiful creature.  
  
"I am sorry for hurting you Riho," he apologized. "All I am trying to do is to make you see that you don't really know this man Shido as well as you think. And to make you see that you deserve so much more...more than..." he broke off helplessly and reached out a hand to brush a tear off of her cheek that had rolled down from her luminous brown eyes.  
  
That was when Shido appeared before them. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
"Shido!" Riho exclaimed, and jumped back from Hunter's touch as if his fingers were hot fire and had scalded her skin. Hunter casually placed his fingertip that held a single, salty teardrop of Riho's to his mouth.  
  
Meanwhile, Shido glared angrily down at the other young vampire, his eyes turning from blue-green to gold. Watching the intimate gesture of Hunter savoring Riho's tears, he reached down and pulled the handsome man up by his shirt front. He easily held the vampire aloft in one hand and wrapped his other hand around his neck, squeezing tightly.  
  
"Don't you dare lay a finger on her, or so help me God, I'll..." he threatened in a low voice, more menacing for its soft, deadly tone than its volume.  
  
Riho placed herself between the two men to intervene before things got out of control.  
  
"Shido!" she cried. "Let him go! He didn't touch me! He means no harm...to any of us," she finished lamely, recalling his damning words about Shido and not quite sure if this was the truth or not.  
  
Shido's hands tightened fractionally around his rival's neck, but then his eyes flicked over to Riho. She begged him for mercy without saying a word. It spoke in her eyes, her face, and her very posture. His eyes resumed their normal hue and he dropped the vampire to the ground. Hunter brushed himself off while Riho wrapped her small arms around Shido, holding him close, and trying to soothe away his anger.  
  
"Stay away from her," he warned.  
  
"I believe that is for Riho to decide," Hunter countered while rising from the ground. He turned around and began to walk away down the beach.  
  
"I'll be seeing you soon, Riho. Think about what I said," he called from over his shoulder and he disappeared into the shadows of a sand dune.  
  
Riho and Shido were once again alone on the deserted beach. Shido looked down at her beautiful, up tilt face illuminated in the moonlight and gently pulled out of her embrace. He began to clean and pack the remains of their beach picnic and thought bitterly of the mess that he had made of their night. Riho mechanically joined him in packing up and when they were ready to depart, they both looked longingly out over the ocean, reminiscing about the time when they were physically and emotionally joined in the waves of the ocean. Now they were each washed up on separate shores, waiting for the tide to bring the other in and be enfolded in loving arms. But which one would dare to tread the treacherous waves in order to reach the other in safe harbor? They looked at each other and began to walk back to the office in painful silence, each alone in their own thoughts.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Hunter strolled through the darkened streets with a determined air. On a lonely street corner, he spotted a prostitute leaning provocatively against a lamp post trying to sell her wares. As he approached her, she straightened up and murmured, "Hey baby! Looking for a date tonight?"  
  
Hunter did not bother with a reply, only gruffly caught her slim wrist in his hand and pulled her body tightly into his embrace. He reached up and tugged her head back with a violent pull on her hair, as his mouth ruthlessly plundered her own. Tingles ran up and down the young girl's spine, whether from fear or excitement, she wasn't sure. The man broke off their kiss and turned her around in his arms. He roughly ripped her lace top from her shoulder and grabbed her ample breasts in both hands. He began to lick and suck on her neck and low moans emerged from the prostitute's lips as her eyes fluttered closed.  
  
Then two razor sharp teeth sunk into her neck and pulled her blood from her body. She melted away in a faint and thought what a pleasant way this was to die.  
  
Hunter tossed the young girl's body to the ground after feasting upon her. He knew instinctively that he had not taken enough to kill her. He had to be very cautious and careful now with "The Vampire Detective" on his back.  
  
Hunter continued to walk up the street and opened the door into a nearby boarding house. He began the long walk up the rickety steps to his room. He slipped his key into the doorknob and with a turn and a little shake, the tumbler opened and allowed him entry into his one-room apartment. He stepped inside, closed the door, and didn't bother to turn on the lights. He leaned against the closed door as the waves of heady intoxication continued to course through his body after taking the girl's blood.  
  
Suddenly, a voice emerged from the darkness.  
  
"Your greediness will cost you...and us," it warned ominously.  
  
"No sir," Hunter argued. "I only took enough to sustain me and not kill her, I assure you. I would never do anything to jeopardize our plans, Master."  
  
"I should hope not," the thickly-accented voice chided. "How did it go on the beach? Will the young Riho succumb to your charms? Have you planted doubts in her head? Or will we just have to kill her?"  
  
"I hope to kill her either way, Master," Hunter replied. "But seducing her first certainly would be nice. She does have a beautiful body, for one so young. I think that I may know what Shido sees in her..."  
  
"Silence! You fool!" the voice ranted. "Shido sees nothing in her! He only sees me, dreams of me, thinks of me, loves only ME! I am making sure of that. I have continued to draw out his memories and have made them occur more and more frequently. He should be crawling back to me in a matter of days and with you handling Riho, he will fall right into my arms."  
  
The man speaking emerged from the shadows to stand in the light emitted from the window. He had long, flowing golden hair with lion-like golden eyes to match.  
  
"But Master," Hunter lamented, "when you have Shido back, you won't want me anymore!"  
  
"Don't worry, my love," Cain drawled as he pulled the young man into his arms. "I have room enough in my heart to love you both."  
  
And with that he set his lips onto the other vampire's mouth as they sank down to the bed together. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
Yayoi was out on a daytime call for the NOS. A young prostitute had been found dead on a street corner in a shady part of town. The coroner's office was just about to take the body away when she arrived on the scene. She coolly flipped her badge for the officers and asked to see the body. The black bag was unzipped and the girl's body was bared for her inspection.  
  
"Knife wound...to the gut," one of the medical examiner's men said to her and her eyes trailed down to the bloody hole exposing the young girl's innards.  
  
"Yes," Yayoi agreed, "but look here," she said and pointed to the cadaver's neck. Two pin-prick holes were embedded in her jugular vein with rust colored streaks of dried blood emerging from the wound.  
  
"Yeah, but that didn't kill her. That's probably just an animal bite," the young man said and then proceeded to zip the bag up one more time and carried the body off to the morgue.  
  
"Yeah...That was some animal all right," Yayoi murmured to herself. "But which one?" she asked as she got into her car and headed for the office.  
  
  
  
Shido had come to a decision. He was going to have to go away for awhile. Just a short period of time in which he could clear his thoughts and his conscience and come back to his friends as a new person. But how to say goodbye? Could he even do it? Could he take Guni's accusing diatribes or Yayoi's snarky comments about running away? And Riho? Riho's tearful eyes and soft touch, begging him without words to not leave her behind.  
  
Was this even a good time to be leaving? He still didn't trust that vampire, Hunter, who was following Riho around. What did he want? What had he told her last night about him? Would Riho wait for him if he left or would she fall willingly into this Hunter's embrace? Just the thought of Riho lying in another man's arms turned Shido's eyes to their vampiric golden color and had him seeing red.  
  
Shaking off the mood, he proceeded to plan his getaway. He decided that he wouldn't tell anyone about it. He would just have to go and hope and pray that everyone would forgive him when he returned. And, he thought selfishly, it would allow him one more night with Riho. After last night's disastrous ending, he would get one more chance to put things to right before he departed.  
  
Yes, that was what he would do. Leave tomorrow after spending the night with his friends and his lover.  
  
As Shido stared out the window contemplating where to go, Yayoi strolled into the office. Guni fluttered out of the kitchen area when she heard Yayoi enter.  
  
"What's up?" she called to Yayoi, as the lovely NOS agent took a seat on the couch, crossing her slender legs.  
  
Shido turned around and greeted Yayoi.  
  
"Anything going on, Yayoi?" he inquired, hoping that there would not be any nightbreeds on the loose for a while so that he could rest easy knowing that his friends were safe while he was away.  
  
"There's a demon out there," Yayoi said. "But not one that's killing at the moment. It is being cautious, careful. It doesn't want to arouse suspicion."  
  
"And," she added, "It's a vampire."  
  
"A VAMPIRE!" Guni and Shido cried in unison.  
  
"Hunter!" Shido exclaimed a moment later. "I never trusted him."  
  
"I suspected the same," Yayoi agreed. "But what's his angle?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Guni inquired, confused. "Isn't he just feeding to survive? I mean maybe he doesn't have a donor like Shido and Riho have."  
  
"That could be a possible motive," Yayoi agreed. "But why is he trying to win us over? Why does he want to impress us? Why did he attack that nightbreed when he, too, is preying on humans?"  
  
"He's definitely trying to get to Riho," Shido declared. "I came upon the two of them together yesterday and I think that he was telling her tales about me. But she wouldn't tell me what he said."  
  
"So," Yayoi uttered while trying to put the pieces of this mysterious puzzle together, "he's trying to present a good front for Riho. Why? So that she will leave you and go to him? But again, why? How does he even know Riho or you? What kind of stories could he tell about you if he doesn't even know you? Where would he get the information?"  
  
"Uh,oh," Guni muttered. "I have a really bad feeling about this. Who is the one person in the world who would want Shido and Riho apart so that Shido was all by himself?"  
  
"CAIN!" the trio exclaimed all together.  
  
"That would explain the rash of memories that I have been experiencing lately," Shido muttered to himself.  
  
"What?" Yayoi asked.  
  
"Nothing," Shido replied. "We have to find Riho and warn her. Does anyone know where she's gone?"  
  
"She went to the market to get office supplies," Guni responded. "She should be back soon."  
  
  
  
  
  
At that moment, Riho was carefully making her way down the street to the office carrying a heavy load of office supplies in front of her when they were suddenly whisked out of her hands. She looked up in some surprise to find Hunter standing in front of her, easily bearing the load of her packages in one hand.  
  
"Hunter!" she exclaimed. "You startled me!"  
  
"Oh, please," he stated, "don't ever be startled or frightened by me. I only have the best intentions where you are concerned. Always."  
  
And with that he gently placed Riho's hand within the crook of his arm and began to escort her down the street. 


End file.
